A provider of a Worksop-based domiciliary care agency has been ordered to pay £7,171 after admitting to providing care illegally.
Kingfisher Domiciliary Home Care Limited was fined £5000 at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 16 June. The company was also ordered to pay £2000 costs and a £171 victim surcharge as a result of the prosecution brought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Prior to sentencing, two directors, Gillian Gilbert and Janet Mann entered a guilty plea on behalf of the company to providing a regulated activity – personal care – in people’s own homes through their company, Kingfisher Domiciliary Home Care Limited, without CQC registration, which is a criminal offence.
Personal care includes assisting people to eat and drink, dress, bathe and use the toilet.
CQC brought the prosecution after it received information from a former member of staff and feedback from representatives of people who had used Kingfisher Domiciliary Home Care Limited.
At this time, Kingfisher Domiciliary Home Care Limited had not registered with CQC.
Patrick Wright, CQC’s head of registration - quality and risk assurance, said:
“It is unacceptable that the directors of Kingfisher Domiciliary Home Care Limited risked people’s safety by running a care service without the benefit of CQC registration, so I welcome their guilty plea.
“The registration process is important to appropriately assess services before they care for people. Services are then monitored and inspected to ensure that they continue to meet standards that people should be able to expect.
“Unregistered services operate without oversight, putting people at risk of harm.
“Monitoring of domiciliary care agencies is especially important, as people who receive care in their own homes can be particularly vulnerable because of their circumstances.
“When we find providers operating illegally, we do not hesitate to act to protect people.”
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